Compass Rose Encircled in Red Rings, Sublime Hand-painted Early 19th Century Snuff Box masonic keystone 2 1/4 x 3 1/4

2 1/4 x 3 1/4

I believe it is an antique iron garden "rake-hoe" head

Yet while the formal execution is its own accomplishment

this I believe could technically be called a Canivet card

) cracked but stable (there's a bit of old chipping along the top edge

Compass Rose Encircled in Red Rings, Sublime Hand-painted Early 19th Century Snuff Box masonic keystone 2 1/4 x 3 1/4Another object that for me is pure perfection. The color, the paint, the patina, and what better than a compass rose at the center of a snuff box to carry around in one's pocket as one navigates through the world? Sublime, right down to the small white dots midway between each point of the star, and with those red rings evincing a target, as if this were the north star, to keep forever in one's sights. 2 15 16" d x 11 16" t. Just gorgeous paint,